Show 'em Your Shorts

Our Manuscript Editors Encourage You to Go Short with Your Stories

Short stories are becoming increasingly popular with
readers around the world.  

Editors love short stories. At Scribendi.com, we admire the authors who produce these mini manuscripts, what with their complete plots and well-developed characters. They can be sparse or lush, philosophical or firmly entrenched in realism, but they all have one thing in common: not a single word is wasted in their tight construction. If you're looking for a challenge, there's no better way to test your writing abilities than to pen a tight and concise short story.

The revival of the short story

The Internet seems to have given short fiction a bit of a boost—a revival even. In this busy, stressed world, many people don't have time to read longer works of fiction such as novels, so they turn to the quick escape offered by shorter creations. Our manuscript editing experts suggest taking a look at publications like Smokelong Quarterly for a little short story therapy. This unique literary magazine offers fiction that can be read in about as long as it takes to smoke a cigarette. There's a vast array of short fiction to be found out there on the web for quick pick-me-up reading—and it can still be found in the more traditional literary journals, magazines, and short story collections as well, of course. That's good news for short story writers, because those publications all need content and are actively seeking it out.

In this article, our professional manuscript editors set out some "Dos and Don'ts" on how to get your short stories noticed and published. These tips have been gathered from the editors of various short fiction publications, and are well worth a look. We'll also give you some ideas on where to find markets.

Our professional manuscript editors say do:

1. READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. That sounds obvious, but it's so easy to skip something important. Read the guidelines, and then read them again. Ignoring the submission guidelines seems to be the number one source of irritation for editors and the best way to get your story tossed straight into the trash. For example: don't send a science fiction story to a Webzine that publishes only literary fiction. Don't send a story of 3,000 words to a market that asks for a maximum of 1,000 words.
2. Read other issues of the magazine/journal/Webzine to get a feel for the publication and to make sure your story will fit.
3. Be patient. Don't send your work as soon as you've finished it. Take some time with it. Leave it alone, come back to it, revise, leave it alone, revise, and then submit.
4. Submit clean work. Get it edited and proofread by Scribendi.com's manuscript editors. A couple of typos aren't the end of the world, but no editor appreciates an unedited, sloppy submission.
5. Show rather than tell. More than anything, this is a tip regarding the craft of writing, but it's something that comes up again and again from editors.
6. Remember that you can tell an old story as long as you tell it in a new, fresh, and convincing way.
7. Bear in mind that strong, believable characters are important, even in science fiction. Also, give the characters a frame of reference, a "back story." Yes, it's hard to do this in the limited space provided by short fiction, but editors often complain that characters seem to have been born yesterday, simply to fulfill the purposes of the story.
8. Tie the end of the story to the beginning.

Our professional manuscript editors say don't:

1. Use clichés. Before you submit your work, read it with a keen eye and replace clichés with fresh language.
2. Argue with an editor who has rejected your work. It's rude, and you'll blow your chances of ever getting published by that market. Rejection hurts, but take it to mean that your piece needs a little more polishing, or perhaps it just isn't right for that particular publication. On a related note, if an editor has agreed to publish your work, you shouldn't complain if you are asked to make a few changes to tailor your piece to the publication.
3. Give up. Ever! Occasionally you'll receive a rejection from an editor who tells you why he or she rejected the piece. This is incredibly helpful. Thank the editor for his or her comments and then use them as you revise.

Find out who's in the market for a short story

• The Creative Writers Opportunities List (CRWROPPS): This is a Yahoo Group that lists markets, contests, etc.
• Novel & Short Story Writer's Market: Available in retail and online bookstores or, often, in the reference section of your local library.
• Writers' Weekly Markets: Authors will find posts for short freelance writing jobs here (updated weekly).
• For Writers: While dated, this web site still lists some very relevant short story publishers.

Lastly, there's always Google, which provides more than 1,310,000 hits for a search on "short fiction markets"!

Good luck, and keep writing, revising, and sending those short stories into Scribendi.com. Our manuscript editing experts are always happy to receive them!